# Question about "Superman Returns": How was he able to lift the Kryptonite island? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436 "2010-06-25T02:40:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436/21 "2010-06-26T21:54:55Z")
Apparently Supes fell into the same category as Spider-man in SM2: he had to discover that sheer force of will was the real source of his powers. Seriously though, didn’t anyone catch the Samson vibe? ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436/22 "2010-06-26T21:55:54Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > This part, at least, got addressed in passing: > > LOIS: “And the rest of the world will just let you keep it? They’ll…” > LEX: “They’ll what? I’ll have advanced alien technology thousands of years beyond what anyone could throw at me. Bring it on!” I always thought this was more wishful thinking on his part than anything else. Yeah, if he saw a warship headed his way, I suppose he could launch a crystal into the water and sink the thing, but he’d still be vulnerable to aerial assault - after all this “alien technology” didn’t prevent Richard White’s dinky little prop plane from flying into the heart of the island. Or do the crystals have other powers besides growing into big ass formations? And if so, would Luthor himself be able to harness those powers? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436/23 "2010-06-26T23:22:26Z")
And in the end, who the fuck cares about one man with alien tech. All you need to do to get rid of him is to get one man (or woman) behind him with a knife, or in his kitchen with poison, or in his bed with either. Hey Ms. Tessmacher. Here’s $50 million and amnesty if you kill the fucker. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436/24 "2010-06-28T18:49:17Z")
I posted this link in one of the other threads here recently, but I figured I’d go ahead and put it here too. In it Kevin Smith talks about some of the other plot holes in the movie. > **[\- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Ekv...eature=related)** > > Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436/25 "2010-06-28T18:56:09Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > I posted this link in one of the other threads here recently, but I figured I’d go ahead and put it here too. In it Kevin Smith talks about some of the other plot holes in the movie. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w\_Ekv...eature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Ekv...eature=related) I get this message: The URL contained a malformed video ID. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436/26 "2010-06-28T19:08:44Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Or do the crystals have other powers besides growing into big ass formations? If they’re anything like [the equivalent in the comics](http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Sunstone)…not really. They can grow into weapons - even full-on warships - but are primarily a data storage medium, and not really particularly dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436/27 "2010-06-28T19:13:25Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > It’s in one of the deleted scenes. After flying up to recharge, he zips around the Earth backwards so fast it rotates in the opposite direction. As physicists proved in the late seventies, a counter-rotating Earth not only makes toilets flush backwards, it also turns back time. By going back in time he was able to get back the 154 minutes he wasted in a theater. I’m sure you understand that Superman didn’t actually make the Earth go backwards, right? Making the Earth go backwards didn’t make time go backwards, the Earth was going backwards because TIME was going backwards. You do understand that, right? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436/28 "2010-06-28T19:15:03Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I get this message: The URL contained a malformed video ID. Here’s another link. I just checked it out, so it should work. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/w_EkvOCjc9A/hqdefault.jpg "Kevin Smith on Superman Returns and Star Trek") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_EkvOCjc9A) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436/29 "2010-06-28T19:57:39Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Here’s another link. I just checked it out, so it should work. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w\_EkvOCjc9A](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_EkvOCjc9A) That was fun stuff. I followed some other links and laughed at his story about writing Superman in the 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436/30 "2010-06-28T21:18:19Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > I’m sure you understand that Superman didn’t actually make the Earth go backwards, right? Making the Earth go backwards didn’t make time go backwards, the Earth was going backwards because TIME was going backwards. > > You do understand that, right? > > -Joe Wow, I didn’t get that either. I guess I was led astray by the scene showing Superman flying around the earth’s equator opposite to its orbit and the earth slowing down and finally spinning backwards. Obviously the film’s creators meant to imply his exceeding the speed of light is what actually caused time to go backwards, following generally accepted quantum mechanical theory. However, I still don’t get why he just turned back time to the point after the missle hit, but before Lois died. Why not undo the whole last week or so? It’s also a shame he didn’t go back and re-rescue the people he un-rescued when he did that. Selfish bastard! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-superman-returns-how-was-he-able-to-lift-the-kryptonite-island/544436.md?page=1)